


Heartstrings

by apostapal



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (mild), Body Horror, Fluff and Smut, Frottage, Kissing, M/M, Old Men In Love, Porn with Feelings, after this is Naptime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 08:02:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11271405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apostapal/pseuds/apostapal
Summary: 'Where's your heart?' It's such a ridiculously literal question. And Jack already knows the answer anyway.





	Heartstrings

**Author's Note:**

> Idk where this even came from my dudes but I guess I was due for some post-fall r76 lovin' anyways. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“Where’s your heart?”

Jack’s hand pushed up under his ribcage, groping blindly. Black fluid oozed over his sleeve, nanites going all goopy before fighting to slide back into place. Meeting resistance, they bunched around the gap Jack’s arm was through.

“Gone.” Gabriel said, voice hoarse.

Jack shook his head. Pushed up to his elbow into his chest cavity, face close to his. Danced his fingers over the inside of his ribs.

“If I don’t have it anymore then it has to be in here.”

Gabriel hiccuped. Felt like, if he needed to breathe, it’d be worse. Jack’s fingers trailed over the inside of his collarbone. Went too far, moved back down into his chest.

He wanted to reach in, show him where to go. But he wasn’t even sure where that was.

“Lower.” Jack shifted. Then, “I missed your hands.”

Jack’s hand found something in the cloud of nanites, fingers plucking at the fibers holding it. Blood and tar and unused muscle. Gabriel could remember his heart thudding in his chest during battle; remember it fluttering when Jack reached for his face; remember it aching when he rolled over to an empty bed on away missions.

Now, it didn’t do much of anything. Barely reacted when Jack wrapped his hand around it and kneaded. Literally pulled at his heartstrings.

“Knew I’d find it.” he whispered, leaning closer to push his face against Gabriel’s cheek.

Rough stubble and warm breath are things Gabriel knew used to make his heart pump; it didn’t do a damn thing. Just laid in Jack’s hand like any other useless hunk of flesh.

“Happy? Can we fuck now?”

“Well,” Jack drawled, mouthing at his jaw, “is my hand inside you not good enough for you now, old man?”

Gabriel laughed. Squirmed as Jack slowly ran his fingers over the shape of his heart before sliding his arm out of his torso. He watched Jack’s eyes linger over the rapidly healing hole, gooey nanites on his arm smoking off and back into place. Eventually, you couldn’t even tell; the skin was just that same, marred surface as before. Slightly sickly looking skin over firm muscle. Jack leaned down and pressed his lips to it.

“Age has given you some interesting kinks.” Gabriel remarked, watching Jack’s head as it moved up over his chest trailing kisses.

He moved his head to the side and Jack pressed his face against his throat, scratching stubble against his lack of a heartbeat. He watched him work to squirm himself out of his coat, apparently feeling overdressed now, and moved to help him out of his shirt when he sat up. Grabbed him by the ass and pulled him closer to undo his belt.

“I’m into this whole ‘laid bare’ thing but I didn’t expect it to be this vulnerable.” Jack teased.

He hopped up for a moment to yank the rest of his clothing off. Gabriel felt something twinge in his chest; not his heart, that didn’t move, but something. It must have shown on his face because when Jack looked up at him, pants hanging off his raised foot, he jumped slightly. Fumbled with his tangle of jeans and boxers irritably before stumbling back over to him, hands outstretched to his face.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I trust you. I do.”

Jack cradled his face in his hands, thumbs rubbing over his cheeks. Expression going all soft in the low light–-showing his age in more ways than one.

“I know.” he said, “I know, Gabe. What’s wrong?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Once, there would have been hesitation. Some kind of consideration before he spoke. Now there was none. Gabriel knew he was probably never getting His Jack back but he had no past version of himself to offer back anyway, it was only fair. Time changes you, all you can do is adapt. His new Jack was just as loving anyway.

Gabriel reached for him and Jack went, fell into his arms without a second thought. They fumbled in a knot of aching joints and scarred skin. It wasn’t like when they were young–-never would be again. But it was well worth adapting to.

The first time they did this, after the cloud of confusion and distrust had cleared, Jack had begged him to be cruel. Tell him how vile he was, how lucky he was that Gabriel would even touch him again. Refused to let himself find any release until Gabriel was satisfied. Had to let him pin him to the mattress and guide him there, telling Jack he should be grateful that he still loved him.

Past Jack was the Golden Boy who lived for being told he was good. ‘Good Boy, you’re so beautiful, you’re my favorite, I love you so.’ Present Jack would have none of that now. Told Gabriel, eyes a little more wet than usual, that he didn’t deserve it when he whispered sweet nothings in his ear. Asked him quietly to stop, so he did. They worked past it, eventually.

“That’s it. That’s my Jack.”

Jack panted against his shoulder, hands working between them as he pressed his hips against Gabriel’s. Smiled weakly and leaned down to kiss his neck again.

Sex was different too. They were both old men, both broken and warped in different ways. Gabriel hadn’t even been sure he could still do anything at all until Jack turned him into a blissful mess; the idea of even attempting hadn’t occurred to him until that point. Jack, meanwhile, simply tired easy–-and ached often. It became far less about release and passion and more about closeness and comfortable warmth. They were still relearning each others bodies after years apart.

The same hand that had been shoved up in his chest, holding his heart, was currently wrapped around their dicks as Jack slid his hand up and down them, rolling his hips into the motion. Gabriel looked down at it and regarded the situation with some humor. Laughed and felt his breathing hiccup again. Realized the noise was close to a sob, though he wasn’t sad.

Jack’s free hand reached out and grabbed his face. Pulled him up off the mattress a little only to push him back down with a kiss, biting his lips and stealing his breath. Nanites floated up out of Jack’s half-open mouth when they parted. He puffed at them, trying to make smoke rings, and Gabriel laughed.

Jack tired out before they finished so Gabriel pushed him over onto his back, climbed onto his lap and took them both a little further until Jack reached for his face again and he leaned down. Kissed roughly as Jack’s hand found his erection again.

“’M not even close.” he mumbled against Gabriel’s mouth, voice rough. “Don’t worry about it.”

Jack might not have been but Gabriel was. Perhaps there was something to letting Jack feel around inside him before this. Laid bare. Vulnerability was pretty hot.

He finished with Jack’s help, back popping as he arched his spine. Something about the whole nanite thing apparently eliminated the mess aspect from things; just lube to remove the dry aspect from friction between their skin was left on Jack’s hand as he rubbed it over the sheets before grabbing Gabriel’s face and pulling him into another kiss.

“Something to foreplay after all, huh?” he teased when they parted, breathless. “You haven’t finished that easy since we got back together. You want me to stick my hand in your chest more often?”

Gabriel laughed and shook his head, ducked to nuzzle against Jack’s pulse. He could feel that, at least, even if he didn’t feel his own anymore.

“Shame I can’t return the favor to my favorite kinky old man.” he drawled. Jack’s chest rumbled against his with laughter.

“Hey, there’s other places you can stick your fingers in me if you’re that interested.” Then, softer, “Plus, you’ve already got my heart wrapped around them. No need to go groping for it in there.”

Gabriel laughed against his skin. Hiccuped in that odd fashion again and pressed down more comfortably against his body. Made himself cozy.

“Could have told you the same thing.”

Jack laughed again, fingers moving over Gabriel’s back lightly. “I figured. But… thank you. It was beautiful.”

Past Jack called him beautiful all the time. 'My Angel’ and 'Sunshine’ and 'Sweetheart’. But this was different because now Gabriel felt he should be frightening. Reaper was this boogeyman that moved in a cloud of smoke, dripped tar, and bared fangs. Held so lightly to morality that Jack had literally shoved his whole arm into his chest with no effect. Held his unmoving heart in his hand. And yet he could still use that word. Still look upon Gabriel and see something good. Something beautiful.

He smiled against Jack’s skin, yanking him sideways on the bed to tangle their limbs and tuck himself under his chin. Jack went, mailable, and pressed his nose against the top of his head. Sighed contently.

“Sentimental old fool.”

Jack just laughed. “Takes one to know one.”


End file.
